Of Slytherin Descent (Snape/reader)

Chapter 34: Intentions

Severus and I were off before I could remember the smell of Hogwarts.  I hadn't been there long, and it already felt like I was losing my home all over again.

A knock had come not long after I made it to the door and I opened it to see him waiting outside.  "Irma" he greeted passively, his lips pulled into a tight line.  The woman looked him up and down as if sizing him up, she did not look happy to be interrupted.

"Severus." She didn't offer him any courtesy in return, simply stating,"You better bring her back after this is over." 

As much as the black-haired man wanted to turn his rather-large nose up at her, he fought himself, after all they wanted the same thing? You?  Whatever happened to her while the two of you were long gone, he decided, would not be of importance to him.

I began walking out the door, my last memory of Hogwarts wasn't gonna be them kicking dirt up at one another. I wanted to remember the best of it, like my students, they always kept me on my toes.  And especially the people, I'd grown far closer than I should've allowed myself with many of the staff, even now I feel a heavy pit in my stomach at the thought of leaving them with the risk of never returning.  I knew the worry would naw at me in the nights to come.

Severus paused to give one last look to Irma as he turned to follow me.  I waited til we were farther down the corridor before addressing him,"I feel awful leaving her here, what if something happens while we're gone?"

Severus stopped, a familiar pang of jealousy filling his chest before he could stop it,"You have  far too much at stake to dwell on it.  If things go south, it would be far worse for the people here if the Dark Lord were to get his hands on you," he paused in an attempt to get the next words out," She's a capable witch herself."

I knew he was right, so I remained quiet as we walked, I had no desire to push him at such a dire time.  There wasn't much else to say on the way back to his chambers, in fact,  we didn't speak at all until we were long out the window of his bedroom, into the cold of the night.

We decided it would be the best if we rode brooms to his place. It wasn't too terribly far out and we didn't want to be tracked. Even floo powder had a way to leave trails, mostly due to a bunch of lawsuits with the Ministry. Eventually the only powder you could buy was the kind that left a scent of sorts, mostly to prevent robberies and such.

Severus had originally insisted I ride on the back is his broom with him, but I sought to ride my own so I'd have it if needed. I can only imagine that we'd eventually get tired of riding so sandwiched together, he didn't seem like the feely type.

The harsh wind whipped my hair all over my face, leaving my cheeks red from the icy weather.  My cloak was enchanted to keep me warmer, but it worked little good for my hands and face.  I wondered to myself if I had just ridden with the man in front of me if I'd be as cold, but I decide not to dwell on it.

At his reluctance of our separate brooms, we went on our ways, me trying to keep up with him. My eyes trailed over his tense shoulders, weary hands, then to his look of concentration.  You could see his lack of skill with a broom if you paid close enough attention, not because he did anything wrong, but you could look and tell he didn't trust the broom. Despite the Broom not being alive, it had magic only the rider could control within itself.  I debated poking fun at him, but I realized that if I spoke he likely wouldn't be able to hear me anyways because of all the wind.

Our luggage was levitating behind us thanks to him, so we hadn't had to add weight to our brooms, otherwise it would take far more control to keep ourselves up. I had a hard enough time keeping up with him with the little visibility that came with the immense snow this time of year.